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Mom and Dad (Brideau) visit Oxford

Well, it has almost been two months since my Mom and Dad came to Oxford to visit, so I figured I should probably write about it.

My parents lived in Oxford in the late 1970s, so our little city wasn’t completely foreign to them, and I came here to visit with them when I was 13 or so. I think they were pretty excited to see the city and some of their old haunts again, and to see how much, if any, has changed over the years. I also got the feeling they were pretty excited to visit us in the place they used to live. Life is pretty neat like that sometimes.

As you can see from the picture above, some things never change. The ale here in England is superb, and is one of the few things my parents definitely miss about living here. We took them on a tour of the High street and some of the famous buildings on campus, as well as the Dunn School of Pathology where my Dad used to work, and Biochemistry where I work, as well as the University Parks. As you can guess, by that time some of us were pretty thirsty, so we nipped into the Lamb & Flag for a celebratory pint.

In addition to the ale here in England, the supply of spirits from malted barley is superb thanks the the brethren to the North. I have developed a taste for single malt scotch whisky, and I got my mom to try a couple of my current favorites. Judging by her face, I don’t think she will be keeping her eyes peeled for a sale on The Macallan aged in fine oak.

One really fun moment for me was going along with my parents down the Botley road to see where they used to live. We managed to get a picture of the famous payphone where they received their Christmas phone call from upstate New York along the way too. The picture above is them looking at the flat they used to live in (the top one), and I’m guessing they were remarking on how it doesn’t really look that different. I think the heating has probably improved, but maybe not, this is England after all.

As we were walking the streets up around North Hinksey, my Dad kept going on about this old church that he remembers with really old headstones and and a curved roof. We took them down a street that has one of the pubs we really like (The Fishes) and cute little houses with thatched roofs and BAM look what we found, that old church. I think he got a kick out of the fact that we actually found it, and that it looked pretty much the same as it did 30 years ago. One of the pictures below is from back then, and one is from two months ago. Which is which?

That guessing game probably wasn’t so hard, I need to work out how to give a photo a vintage hue. Their picture is the top one, and mine is the bottom.

And last but not least, here are Mom and Dad near Raleigh Park, and if you look closely to the right of them you can see the incredible city spires in the background. I have plenty more pictures of their visit too, and I’ll put them up in an online gallery eventually. I’m so glad that my parents came to visit us here in Oxford. Chelsea and I had a blast going to old places with them and hearing some stories, as well as visiting a few new ones and making stories of our own. Thanks for visiting Mom and Dad, we miss you already!